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Diabetic Friendly Gifts from the Kitchen

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Happy April Fool’s Day! Sorry that I don’t have any wacky fool-your-friends recipes to share. But, I can guarantee that you can fool your friends, family or unsuspecting spouse into thinking that this creamy, heavenly homemade ricotta cheese was bought from the store… Except for the fact that it tastes ten MILLION times better than what you scoop out of a store bought jar! Just sayin’.

Make Your Own Ricotta Cheese

The whole process of making this ricotta cheese, thanks to The Italian Dish, was so quick and easy I did it twice. Just 15 minutes, 2 quarts of whole milk, a lemon, heavy cream and salt are all you need. Also, you’ll need cheesecloth. Sur La Table and Williams-Sonoma have it, as well as my local gourmet supply store, Surfas, a.k.a. foodie heaven on earth. Seriously, you need the jaws of life to pull me out of there!

Homemade Ricotta Cheese Recipe

First, you use a heavy pot to boil the milk, cream and salt before adding the fresh lemon juice. Simmer and stir and get excited (you’re making homemade ricotta cheese!) for 5 minutes, until you see small curdles forming in the liquid. Pour it into the cheesecloth-lined strainer, wait about 10 minutes and you’ll have moist, fluffy fresh ricotta ready for your next recipe! I made these pesto lasagna roll ups with it, and they tasted out of this world.

For the ricotta recipe, click below. For recipes featuring ricotta, check out my favorites here:

Turkey Spinach Stuffed Shells
Berry Strata
Classic Italian Lasagna

Wishing you a very happy, cheesy weekend! Here’s hoping you don’t get fooled… too badly.

Craving more? Keep in touch on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram for new post updates and more. You can also check out my FAQ page, or contact me with any questions or inquiries!

Print Recipe

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

2 quarts whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)

You'll also need a small amount of cheesecloth (found at Sur La Table, Williams-Sonoma, or most gourmet food supply stores)

Directions:

Line a large strainer with a layer of cheesecloth and place it over a large bowl.

Slowly bring the milk, cream and the salt to a rolling boil in a 6-quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Add lemon juice. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until mixture forms small curdles, about 5 minutes.

Pour into the lined strainer and let drain for 10 minutes.  After discarding the liquid, chill the ricotta, covered.  It will keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Enjoy!

Adapted from The Italian Dish

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42 Comments

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Comments

  1. warmvanillasugar says

    April 1, 2011 at 9:34 am

    Cool! This is such a great idea. I love ricotta, and have always wanted to make my own. No excuses now! Thanks :)

  2. Lindsay @ Pinch of Yum says

    April 1, 2011 at 11:31 am

    I totally love ricotta and use it in everything. I have never even considered making my own (until now)! Making cheese kind of intimidates me for some reason, but this looks so good!!

  3. Lisa @ Dishes of Mrs. Fish says

    April 1, 2011 at 11:53 am

    I bet this tastes amazing. :) I’ve never thought of making my own ricotta cheese. My Italian husband would love this!

  4. Jenn says

    April 1, 2011 at 1:18 pm

    It looks wonderful! I use to use the excuse that it took too much time to make my own cheese.. now I guess I can’t say that :)

  5. Angie's Recipes says

    April 1, 2011 at 1:20 pm

    It looks so fresh and delicious! I love the fuss free cheese making recipes.

  6. Nicole@HeatOvenTo350 says

    April 1, 2011 at 2:02 pm

    Wow, I had no idea it was so simple to make this at home. I think I can do this! Thanks for sharing it.

  7. Victor says

    April 1, 2011 at 2:29 pm

    I never knew that ricotta cheese can be homemade. That’s interesting. It is very similar to quick paneer simply using milk and lemon juice.

  8. Lindsey @DandyDishes says

    April 1, 2011 at 3:30 pm

    I’ve always wanted to try this but never knew how and apparently I was too lazy to look it up LOL Thank you so much for sharing…I’m going to whip up a batch this weekend :)

  9. Val says

    April 1, 2011 at 4:36 pm

    Ricotta has never looked so good!!! I’ll bring over the lasagna sheets ; )

  10. Katie @ This Chick Cooks says

    April 1, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    That ricotta looks delicious. I bet it is so much better than the tub you can buy at the grocery.

  11. Jennifurla says

    April 1, 2011 at 7:18 pm

    Impressive Georgia!

    When shall I be over? ha

    Have a nice weekend.

  12. Maris says

    April 1, 2011 at 7:34 pm

    I LOVE ricotta cheese. I could eat it like ice cream. Well, that could be an exaggeration, but I do love it :o)

  13. Emily says

    April 1, 2011 at 8:55 pm

    Michael is sure he doesn’t like ricotta. Personally, I just think he hasn’t had GOOD ricotta. This inspires me to try making it ourselves!

  14. blogbytina.com says

    April 1, 2011 at 8:59 pm

    ooooh… I have been wanting to make my own cheese for a while but haven’t yet mustered up the courage! you make it look so easy :D

  15. J. Lea Lopez says

    April 1, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    It’s really that easy?? I know what I’m doing with my day off Monday… :-)

  16. mommaC says

    April 2, 2011 at 2:09 am

    How about part skim ricotta? Some of us are watching our calories.

  17. marla says

    April 2, 2011 at 2:59 am

    It is essential that I start making my own ricotta cheese. It must taste so fresh & amazing. I have been using it all the time lately in my recipes. Thanks for the recipe Georgia! xo

  18. Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking says

    April 2, 2011 at 3:19 am

    mommaC – I wasn’t able to find any part-skim ricotta recipes, but if you come across one, I’d love to see it.

  19. Al Dente Gourmet says

    April 2, 2011 at 5:36 am

    Hi Georgia, This homemade ricotta looks absolutely Delicious! Great Recipe :)

    Have a fabulous weekend,

    Aldy.

  20. Lea says

    April 2, 2011 at 12:45 pm

    How much cream do you need?
    I read a lot of recipe without cream and find it kind of confusing!
    :)

  21. Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking says

    April 2, 2011 at 2:45 pm

    Lea – The amount of cream is in the recipe.

  22. Anonymous says

    April 2, 2011 at 7:29 pm

    Don’t toss out that whey ! Use it in bread recipes, pancakes, or water your garden tomatoes with it.

  23. Magic of Spice says

    April 2, 2011 at 7:36 pm

    Your ricotta looks perfect, such a heavenly cheese :)

  24. Cooking Gallery says

    April 2, 2011 at 10:25 pm

    How wonderful…! Homemade Ricotta cheese! It looks really good :D)!

  25. scrambledhenfruit says

    April 3, 2011 at 2:22 am

    I had no idea that you could make this without some “special” ingredient! Yours looks great and I’m going to try it for sure! :)

  26. Salome says

    April 3, 2011 at 7:52 am

    Thank you for your amazing blog!

  27. crustabakes says

    April 3, 2011 at 9:11 am

    That sounds easy enuff! No more breaking the bank to get store bought ricotta. Now to hunt for the cheesecloth…. :)

  28. Tracey says

    April 3, 2011 at 11:48 am

    Gorgeous! I’ve never thought to make my own ricotta but it sounds really easy, so why not?

  29. baking.serendipity says

    April 3, 2011 at 6:32 pm

    This is so impressive to me. I’ve honestly never even thought about the possibility of making your own ricotta. So smart and delicious!

  30. Stephanie says

    April 4, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Ricotta is one of my most favroite cheeses. I love it on warm pasta, all by itself. My husband hates it, so I hardly ever get to enjoy it. I had NO idea it was so easy to make! Thanks for sharing!

  31. Maria says

    April 5, 2011 at 8:23 am

    Love it! I made a similar cheese recently and it was just delicious, this looks fantastic!

  32. Karen from Globetrotter Diaries says

    April 5, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    Thanks for stopping by Georgia– glad you did so because now I’ve discovered yours– absolutely beautiful! I’ve never made my own ricotta but have been wanting to get into cheese making, and this looks really easy. Surfas is the BEST PLACE ON EARTH! Could spend an entire day there…

  33. briarrose says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    So cool…the most I’ve ever done is mozzarella. I might have to give this a whirl. :)

  34. Min {Honest Vanilla} says

    April 6, 2011 at 5:04 am

    This is absolutely brilliant! I didn’t even know that it’s possible ;) Homemade everything are the best! :)

  35. Inside a British Mum's Kitchen says

    April 6, 2011 at 10:45 am

    I’m SO glad I found your blog, it’s delightful! Thanks so much for the recipe, I love fresh ricotta and will absolutely make this.
    Have a lovely day.

  36. Amelia PS says

    April 8, 2011 at 2:08 am

    so wonderful: I love making home made basics, like bread and cheese. Ricotta is so satisfying to make isn’t it? I like mine on toast with a small drizzle of honey.

  37. Karen says

    April 8, 2011 at 2:13 am

    I had no idea this was so easy…it’s always been on my list of things to try, and now I really want to! I can imagine how wonderful this homemade version is!

  38. Spoon and Chopsticks says

    April 18, 2011 at 9:05 pm

    Hi Georgia,

    Thanks for visiting my blog. You have a great blog and I love this homemade ricotta cheese recipe. I am going to give it a try.

    http://spoon-and-chopsticks.blogspot.com/

  39. Olguichi1970 says

    August 11, 2011 at 9:02 pm

    It looks absolutely delicious..as your beautifull blog!!!!Kisses from Spain

  40. Wannabe Molly says

    September 5, 2012 at 1:56 am

    This looks tasty and fun! Has anyone tried freezing it? Also, is there a way to make it lowfat?

  41. Georgia | The Comfort of Cooking says

    September 5, 2012 at 2:38 pm

    I wouldn’t recommend freezing it or using anything other than whole milk and heavy cream.

  42. Rashida says

    September 28, 2017 at 6:22 pm

    I do agree with all of the ideas you’ve presented in your post. They are really convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are very short for beginners. Could you please extend them a bit from next time? Thanks for the post.

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Welcome to The Comfort Kitchen. Simple, scrumptious comfort food recipes with a twist is what you’ll find here, some indulgent and some light, but always fresh, frugal and family friendly. Thanks for visiting! (read more)

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